For the past month, I’ve been invested in NaNoWriMo (posts to come on that), so my reading progress took a steep downturn. However, my book-buying tendencies did not stutter, and I have amassed quite a few new books. I’ve just finished All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, so by the time you’re reading this, I’m probably already deep into one of these novels.
Because I haven’t updated my reading life in a while, I thought I would share what I will be reading in the near future.
The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin
Empress Elizabeth of Austria is unhappy in her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph. To escape the suffocating life of yachts and formalities, Elizabeth often finds herself on a horse. In a class much below hers is Captain Bay Middleton who needs money to buy a winning horse for the Grand National. He finds such money in a woman named Charlotte, and though they have a budding romance, Bay cannot help the feelings he develops for Elizabeth as he escorts her in the hunt.
Based in 19th century Europe, we follow the woes of historical romances and politics.
This book really caught my eye during my fourth lap of a local thrift book sale. Recently, historical fictions and victorian romances have really caught my eye so I thought this would feed that new obsession well. I want something a bit more than a typically “and they fell in love” story, something with just a bit more in its background, and I feel like this fits that.
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
When Alice Proserpine’s grandmother, an author of dark fairytales, dies on her estate called The Hazel Wood, her mother is stolen. The being who appears to have taken her is of the supernatural world her grandmother wrote. Nothing is left from her mother besides a note instructing her to stay away from the Hazel Wood. Alice enlists the help of a classmate and fan of her grandmother’s to venture into the Hazel Wood and find her mother.
Surprisingly, it took me so long to purchase this book. It sounds like something I would have jumped on at publication day. However, I feel like I never knew too much about it, other than that people loved it, so I often forgot about it. Now, I am incredibly excited to reach for this one as the weather gets gloomier and the air gets chillier.
The third book in the Ember in the Ashes series and one I am greatly excited for. I’ve owned this book since last Christmas, so it has been on my TBR list for going on a whole year. I have plans to finish this book by the end of the year, but we’ll see where the months take me.
In the second book of the Mirror Visitor Quartet, Ophelia is now thrust into the spotlight for her gift to read the secret history of objects. In this sequel we see more of her powers, more of her magical world, and more of her distant fiance, Thorn.
I received this book as an ARC and a finished copy from the publisher, Europa Editions. I adored the first book with its whimsical descriptions and its wonderfully written world, so I am excited to get back into that setting. Honestly, I think I just keep forgetting that this book is in my pile because I was genuinely thrilled by the first installment.
My Plain Jane by
In this Gothic remake of Jane Eyre, nothing is like the story we’ve been told by Bronte. Jane is young and ready to start her life at Thornfield Park, despite her being rather plain and rather poor. She’s also best friends with a ghost. Charlotte is an aspiring novelist and is determined to capture Jane’s story. Alexander is snooping around Thornfield Hall and finds something rather peculiar going on in Thornfield. He’s also a ghost hunter. And dear Mr. Rochester “is hiding more than skeletons in his closets.”
This is a book I accidentally stumbled upon on Book Outlet, as one usually does on that site, and I was instantly intrigued, and it was instantly in my basket. It arrived a week later and I’ve been anticipating starting it since. I love the classic remakes, and I believe this one won’t disappoint.
Enchantee by Gita Trelease
When her parents are killed by small pox, Camille must provide for her brother and younger sister. Luckily, she has the help of magic and can turn metals into money for food and medicine. But the coins won’t hold their shape and her brother disappears, so she seeks more extravagent means. She transforms herself with dark magic into a baroness and is sept into the Palace os Versailles where la magie is greatly desired. She gambles for money and supports her sister, but her patience for the nobles grows thins–until she meets a handsome balloonist. Then, the French revolution erupts.
I’ve always had a love for anything French. I love the language, the history, the life, so this book was a must for me. Now, I have a place to turn when I need a break from Les Miserables. Again, I love historical fictions, so this will be an exciting new take on the French Revolution.
Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler’s love helped to shape a budding nation.. Eliza’s family is descended from the most distinguished bloodlines and remains a founding family of the new nation. The Schuyler’s grand ball draws in visitors of all sorts, even a young, mysterious colonel of the American Revolution, Alexander. And once the two meet, history is changed forever.
There are more historical fictions on this list than I had anticipated, but I’m not complaining. This story sounds incredibly charming, and I know it’s well loved by many.
The Wicked Deep by
The Swan Sisters of Sparrow were sentenced to death under crimes of witchcraft, but not before cursing the small town. Two centuries later, the sisters still return each summer in the bodies of three troubled girls to seek revenge by luring boys into Sparrow’s harbor. Penny Talbot had accepted the fate of the town until Bo Carter arrived, unknowing of the curse.
Witches are one of my favorite kinds of people to read of because so much possibility lies in magice, specifically dark margic. I love the mysterious, ominous feel even just the jacket description gives.
Devil of the Highlands by Lynsay Sands
The most notorious laird of Scotland is fierce, cold, and deadly–the devil of the highlands. But Evelinde has just agreed to marry him because anything would be better than her cruel stepmother. Once she meets him, an unlikely heat arises between them, and even Cullen, the laird, believes there might be more for him than just his clan.
I had originally gotten this book from the same thrift book sale as aforementioned simply because Scotland. If you follow me on Instagram, you know my new, unshameful love for Scotland and its men. Whilst writing the above description, I realized Cullen is the laird of Donnachaidh, which is one of the clans I’m related to, so that’s even more exciting!
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
At a celebration, the young and beautiful Evelyn Hardcastle is murdered. But the night will relive itself with Aiden until he can solve the murder, each time beginning with her death. Every night he doesn’t identify the killer is a new night awakening in a different body, and someone is determined to stop him.
It’s very rare that I’ll be so interested in a mystery novel, but this sounds like the most dramatic, enticing game of Clue, and I cannot resist it. I hope it lives up to its intrigue.
The final installment to the Throne of Glass series, a series I hold so dearly in my heart. I’ve also had this book since last Christmas, but I believe my subconscious is trying to prolong the series’ end as long as I can.
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
A novella for the Court of Thorns and Roses series. I’ve been waiting for Christmas time to roll around to get into this more festive take on the Night Court. I’ve been fiercely longing to get back into this world.
As you can see, I have a lot of reading to get to between my writing. Let me know what has found its way into your TBR pile because I could always use inspiration to keep mine growing.
Thanks for reading,
Taylor
Taylor is Reading 
